Deep well pump



April 3, 1934. Q GR1FF|TH5 1,953,171

DEEP WELL PUMP Filed Feb. 18 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR ATTORNEY April 3, 1934. O THs 1,953,171

DEEP WELL PUMP Filed Feb. 18 193] 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR mm AM ATTORNEY April 1934- o. E. GRIFFITHS 1,953,171

DEEP WELL PUMP Filed Feb.. 18, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR 0A4 43% BY 71:14.... AM

ATTORNEY Q valve element of a type to be Patented Apr. 3, 1934 DEEP WELL PUMP Orah E. Griffiths, Beaver Falls, Pa, assignor to The Correct Measure Company, Rochester, Fa, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 18,1931, Serial No. 516,661

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in re ciprocating pumps and the invention is particu larly applicable to pumps employed in deep well operations, such as pumping oil wells.

5 Heretofore it has been proposed to construct pumps free of leather packing to eliminate the frequent renewals which necessitate pulling the plunger and casing out of the well, and for this purpose it has been proposed to groove or recess either the plunger cylinder or the outer periphery of the plunger to form liquid seals to secure the necessary suction for the pumping operations.

In accordance with the present invention it is proposed to entirely eliminate leather packings 5 and to recess both the plunger cylinder and the plunger to secure the desired deep well operations.

By employing liquid seals on both the plunger and cylinder, suflicient suction is available to pumping action for pump a substantial volume of liquidandalso prevent scoring of the plunger and cylinder by sand or grit which may be carried in the liquid.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a combination of elements including a standing valve, a working valve, and means cooperating to render them simultaneously removable from the casing when it is necessary to lift the plunger by the sucker rod and in which the working valve shall be provided with a reversible hereinafter explained. l

The invention is more clearly illustrated in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters designate like parts and in which Figure 1 is a sectional elevational view of a plunger and cylinder embodying the principlesof this invention; Figures 2 and 3 are top plan and side elevational views, respectively, of the renewable valve element; Figure 4 is a top plan of a connecting rod joining the standing valves and the operating valve in the manner to be hereinafter explained; Figure 5 a sectional elevational view showing the assembly of the plunger, the standing valve and the plunger cylinder; Figure 6 a sectional elevational view of the plunger cylinder of Figures 1 and 5; Figure 7 a modified form of the plunger shown in Figure 1; Figure 8 across section of a plunger constructed of a plurality of rings in superposed relation; Figure 9 an end view of one of the rings of Figure 8 and Figure 10 a side elevational view thereof.

With reference to Figure 5 of the drawings, the structure therein illustrated comprises a cylinder 1, a plunger generally designated at 2, a threaded connection 3 and an end piece 4, the latter housing the working valve which comprises the valve seat 5 and a steel ball 6. The top of the member 4 is provided with a threaded end ,7 for connection with a sucker rod (not shown).

The plunger is of hollow construction having a shoulder 8 at the bottom thereof for supporting the head 9 of a rod 10whichis secured to the standing valve 11 containing a passage controlling ball 12. By means of the rod 10 the standing valve may be lifted with the plunger when the latter; is pulled from the casing by means of the sucker rod.

As is more clearly shown in Figure 1, the plunger 2 is provided with a helical groove 14 which is of saw-tooth shape, to form a shoulder 15 which functions to support the liquid and to retard the flow of liquid in a downward direction. The threaded connector3 is joined to the plunger 2 at the threaded portion 16 and to the end member 4 at the threaded portion 17. Valve 5, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, is provided with seats 18 at its respective ends and is adapted to fit into the connector 3 seating against the shoulder-5, and when one'of the seats 18 is worn, the valve 5 is removed and reversed to utilize the unworn seat for the passage controlling ball 6.

The head 9 of the connecting rod 10 is assembled in the plunger in the manner shown in Figure 1 by means of a sleeve 19 having a threaded portion 20 that interacts with the thread formed-in the bottom of the plunger and which is screwed into place to hold the head 9 in cooperative relation with the plunger so that when the plunger is lifted out-of the casing, or cylinder, the standing valve 11 is lifted out with it. The head, 9 is provided with slots 21 to permit the free flow of liquid into the hollow interior of the plunger 2. r

As shown in Figure 6 the pump cylinder 1 is provided with annular grooves 24 in axially spaced relation, the grooves being capable of holding a liquid to seal off the space between the plunger and cylinder and grooves 24 further cooperate with the helical groove 14 of the plunger to permit any grit or sand to pass to the bottom of the cylinder without scoring the interior wall of the cylinder or the exterior of the plunger. Instead of the helical groove 14 in the plunger, the latter may be provided with annular grooves 14a as shown in Figure 7 the grooves being of the same shape and spaced to correspond to the pitch of the helical groove. As shown in the several figures of the drawings, the grooves 24 of the cylinder are of different spacing than the grooves of the plunger.

- highly efficient pumping action, it

In the modification shown in Figures 8 to 10 of the drawings, the plunger instead of being a tube having spaced grooves on its outer periphery, is constructed of annular members 25 as shown in Figures 9 and 10. The rings 25 are slightly counter-bored at one end as shown at 26, the wall 2'? being tapered to engage the tapered wall 28 of another ring with which it is engaged. The height of rings 25 and the tapered wall 28 are such that when a plurality of rings 25 are assembled in superposed relation in the manner shown in Figure 8, the structure corresponds to that of Figure 7. The grooves 14a of Figure "I are the same size and pitch as the grooves 14b of Figure 8.

The rings 25 are assembled in an obvious manner on a hollow plunger and are secured between two end abutments by a screw nut. The inner diameters of rings 25 are made to slide on the plunger and the rings seat on each other in accurate alinement. A grooved plunger of any desired length may be made by assembling any number of the rings 25 in the manner described.

The operation of the pump is briefly as follows: On the upstroke of the plunger 2, liquid is drawn through the standing valve by suction which raises the ball 12 from its seat and permits the fluid to displace the plunger 2 as it travels upwardly in the cylinder 1. On the down stroke of the plunger, the liquid flows to the interior of the plunger and the ball 12 is seated in the standing valve, thereby preventing the return flow of the fluid. By the continued down stroke of plunger 2, the ball 4 is lifted and a column of liquid passes upwardly through the valve 5. Upon the subsequent upstroke of the plunger the liquid trapped above the ball 6 is discharged from the pump and liquid is simultaneously drawn through the passage of the standing valve into the pump cylinder 1.

Liquid will fill the helical groove 14 and the annular grooves 24 of the plunger 2 and cylinder 1, respectively, forming a seal which produces a being understood that only sufficient clearance is needed to provide free sliding movement of the plunger in the cylinder. Any sand or grit passing downwardly between the plunger and cylinder is trappped in the annular grooves 24 and is worked downwardly from groove to groove by the helicalgrooves 14 of the plunger due to the reciprocatory movement of the latter.

In this manner the accumulation of sand or grit is readily disposed of without making it possible to score the cylinder or plunger and because 01 the lubricating film of the oil created by the grooves in the plunger and cylinder, the wear on either of these elements will be'very light and consequently the pump may be operated indefinitely without replacement of any of its parts.

The plunger for deep well pumps is of substantial length varying from three to four feet or more, thereby providing for a very substantial liquid seal between the plunger and cylinder which provides for efficient pumping action to pump liquid in large volumes from deep well pumps.

It is further evident that by combining the parts of the plunger, the standing valve and the comiecting rod 10 in the manner shown, the entire pumping mechanism may be pulled with a minimum of expense and without necessitating that the casing be lifted out of the well.

In the operation of the plunger 2 of the pump the rod 10 remains stationary, the head 9 mere- 1y functioning as a support for lifting the standing valve when it is desired to raise the latter out of the casing.

Although one embodiment of the invention has been herein illustrated and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the details of construction without departing from the principles herein set forth.

I claim:

1. The combination with a pumping cylinder having annular grooves in axially spaced relation on the interior wall thereof of a plunger having a helical groove on the exterior thereof, the turns of said helical grooves being more closely spaced than said annular grooves, said helical grooves being closed at both ends to retain a column of liquid and said plunger and cylinder being valved to raise a column of liquid in response to the reciprocating movement of said plunger.

2. The combination with a pumping cylinder having annular grooves in axially spaced relation on the interior wall thereof, of a sectional plunger constituted by a series of cup elements assembled in superposed relation on a hollow plunger rod, said cups having a cylindrical por tion for engagement with said pumping cylinder and having a constricted body portion at one end to form annular grooves with the abutting face of the next adjacent cup, the grooves of said cylinder being coextensive with the grooves of the plunger and being of different spacing to provide for the displacement of sand from one groove to another in an axial direction by movement of the plunger, and said plunger and cylinder being valved to raise a column of liquid in response to the reciprocating movement of said plunger.

3. The combination with a pumping cylinder having annular grooves in axially spaced relation on the interior wall thereof, or" a plunger having a helical groove on the exterior thereof, and valve means for said plunger and cylinder for raising a column of liquid in response to the reciprocating movement of said plunger, said annular end helical grooves being provided on substantially the entire cooperating surfaces of said cylinder and plunger, and said helical grooves being closed at both ends to retain a column of liquid.

ORAH E. GRIFFITHS. 

